Twice Bitten
by Little-Miss-Kitt
Summary: When Ruby embarrasses herself and a potential suitor in the middle of the school day, questions are asked regarding romance that Ruby doesn't quite have the answers to. Enter Yang, and the reveal of more than a few secrets. (oneshot)


**Author's Note:** **A oneshot because I wanted – needed – to write something just a tad more upbeat than usual. This MIGHT turn into a proper series, depends on whether anyone wants to see and if I have the time overall.**

* * *

Blake never said anything.

Yang never said anything.

Weiss...

How could Weiss _not_ say anything? How could anyone? They had all just seen it. They had seen Ruby freak out, making an embarrassing scene of running away from a poor kid who had worked up the confidence to ask her out screaming "gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross". On top of being ridiculous and melodramatic, even Weiss had to admit that it wasn't exactly the kindest way of letting a guy down. And evidently that fact was not lost on Ruby, either, who presently looked about as guilty as Zwei when they came back to find Blake's pillow ripped open and her bed covered in its innards.

"So what, pray tell, was _that_ , Ruby?"

Ruby's gaze snapped round to Weiss. She had been not five seconds ago sitting at her desk, burying her head in her work, counting bullets and pretending that the last few minutes did not happen. Weiss herself widened her eyes at Ruby's panicked expression. Okay, so she could have said it nicer than that. But at least the subject was breached and they were on point.

She offered a small, almost half, smile before shifting, sitting up properly and fixing her azure gaze on her partner. "Sorry that was..." Weiss trailed off, trying, desperately, to find the right words. "Insensitive..." she trailed off again. "I just..." And again before…

"What was that!?" she finally blurted out once more, deciding that no, she couldn't have said it nicer than that.

Ruby, meanwhile, leaned away from Weiss, placing what little distance she could better the two and shrinking into herself. "I-I... I don't know okay? I'm just... Romance freaks me out..."

Weiss scoffed, turning away. "That's the understatement of the year," she barbed. "And _I'm_ the Ice Queen," she fired off again before Yang cleared her throat, earning everyone's attention from the bathroom she had retreated to for the added privacy.

"I... might be able to explain..."

Ruby's brow scrunched at her sister while Weiss raised hers curiously. Blake meanwhile glanced over from her bed where she was sat doing little but waiting for time to pass, keeping an ear on Weiss and Ruby's conversation. Her ears twitched in anticipation as she watched on.

Now in the hotseat, Yang found more than few nerves striking her. She let out a deep breath and began. "Dad lost both both of the people he fell in love with. Ruby, Blake, you both know. Weiss... I'm sorry I didn't tell you one-to-one, but know I _do_ trust you – so much. And I hope you trust us too."

Weiss glanced down, considering Yang's words and shifting just a tad uncomfortably at the clear meaning behind them. Instead of acknowledging Yang's plea for transparency regarding the Schnee family, Weiss just shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it. Our lives are personal for a reason. You don't need to explain anything to me, Yang."

Yang looked over, smiled back and nodded. "Yeah, well... this you _all_ could do with hearing, _especially_ Ruby." That got her sister's attention, the young, dark haired girl leaning forward hesitantly but curiously. "As I was saying, our Dad lost the two people he loved the most. He lost Summer, Ruby's mom, when she went out on a mission and never came back..."

Ruby immediately winced. Yang's own voice lowered, the weight of her words sinking in bringing with them yet another wave of sadness and desire. Weiss reached over and pulled Ruby into a half-hug, rubbing her bicep and letting Ruby rest her head against her chest, creasing the fabric in the process. Blake meanwhile kept her gaze fixed on Yang, now soft and caring, shining with emotion and asking a single question without words. A question Yang could answer with a wave of her hand and get a smile in response to.

Seconds later, the group regained their composure, with Yang brushing a stray golden lock back behind her ear from where it had fallen when her head bowed moments prior. "He lost Summer. He... the love of his life, an incredible mom not just to Ruby, but also to me... God she was so good to me. B-But before that..." Struggling to find the words, Yang just let her emotions win, falling back against the wall, looking down, then away, her voice low and a frown firmly ruining a beautiful face that on any other could light up a thousand days. "Before that he lost my mom. I don't even have a name for her."

A tense silence loomed; thick and heavy with pain and regret and guilt and love. It was Weiss that finally broke it, asking the question that Ruby and Blake already knew the answer to. "What happened to her?"

Yang's eyes met Weiss' for a second as Yang pushed from the wall, frown still in place and just... shrugged. It was almost hopeless. "I don't know, Weiss. I just... don't know. She's gone. And _I_ don't actually have a face to put to the name. Just a stupid family photo stupidly hidden away..."

"I..." Weiss turned her gaze toward the floor. "Sorry to hear that..."

The blonde didn't acknowledge Weiss' sympathies, instead opting to just push on ahead to the point of her story. "Falling in love was the most painful thing he's ever had to experience. And he didn't just go through it once. God, the pain of losing the one person you love the most in the world – _twice_. I can't even imagine it. But he went through it. He went through it, and it was so bad that he didn't want _us_ going through it. So he hid it."

Yang stuttered for a moment before a small grin formed. "Or... tried to..." She locked eyes with her sister, holding Ruby's silver, entranced orbs with her own soft, loving lilac. "It worked with you. I don't know what it did, but it made the idea of romance repulsive and overwhelming. You've not even looked at someone in that way _once_ in your entire life. But for me..." She paused, collecting her thoughts, figuring out how best to work the rest of her story.

"Okay, so, before I start, no I didn't act up or doing anything stupid like sleep around. But at the same time, I didn't exactly behave... conservatively." Taking a step forward, Yang ensured the group's attention was held. "I flirted, I showed skin, I went on a few dates, kissed a few people… I wouldn't let my dad's experience cost me the chance to live and enjoy my life to the fullest. And you know why I did that?"

She didn't give anyone a chance to answer to her rhetorical question, instead bursting forth in a rush of pride and passion. "Because I know that the years _before_ dad lost my mom and Summer were the happiest of his life and that he doesn't actually regret any of it!" One deep breath later and Yang took a few steps across the dorm room toward where Ruby remained at her desk, where she promptly crouched down and took her sister's hand in her own, squeezing reassuringly.

"If Dad could turn back the clocks, he would. And he'd do it all again, even knowing how it would end. Don't hide from romance, Rubes. I didn't. Stand up and do what _you_ need to. I'm not saying be me. I ignored his best efforts to shelter me. I kept an open mind, freely flirting with anyone who might interest me, because who knows? Dad met _both_ of his life loves when he was still in-training. They were his teammates, his best friends; the people he trusted more than anyone else in the world. If there's even a slight chance that I'll meet that special someone, I'm taking it."

Unbeknownst to Yang, Blake's jaw had just dropped and her book had been thrown away. Yang... flirted with the people she was interested in – the people she envisioned spending the rest of her life with. What did that mean about her?

"But hey," Yang finished. "You do you."

Ruby let out a hum before looking down at her desk and biting the inside of her cheek. The wheels in her mind turned as she considered Yang's words, the meaning behind them, and most of all exactly what _she_ wanted to do. The boy she had run from crossed her mind, paired with a pang of guilt. How much Yang enjoyed her life, crossed her mind. How happy Yang would quite clearly be if she found that special someone, and how happy Yang would constantly try to make that person.

She couldn't remember Summer. And Yang couldn't remember her mom either. But Yang saw Summer. Yang remembered Summer. Yang knew just how happy she and Taiyang were together. And Ruby had been told story after story, and she kept asking for more. She wanted to hear every single last one of Yang's memories of Summer, to ingrain them into her mind and make them a part of her. She wanted nothing more than to miss Summer as much as her sister and her father quite clearly did - wanted to love her that much, too.

And through everything, Ruby discovered the happiness that was the time before, and the short few years after, Ruby was born. But she also discovered the utter heartbreak. And since then, Taiyang, even Qrow, had always hid romance from her. Yang openly chatted about boys and girls and how she'd always wanted a daughter ever since Ruby was born. Her father was always on edge, never comfortable. Qrow meanwhile played the villain at times, stopping Yang from going out or just plain telling her to change the topic and focus on something "more pleasant". In hindsight, it was no wonder Ruby was far fonder of Qrow than Yang was. Though after today, it was clear Yang didn't bear too much of a grudge.

 _What I want... What DO I want? I should do me. I should do what I want. But I-Ow, ow, ow!_

Ruby's hand rose up to her face, fingers pressing gently into her temple, massaging gently. Love really did hurt. It had given her a headache just thinking about it.

"You okay there, sis?"

Yang sounded genuinely concerned. Weiss on the other hand...

"Oh God, don't tell me you're actually considering dating that guy?"

While Yang's response comforted her, Weiss' startled her. She whipped back around, immediately regretting it as pain lanced through her brain and she winced, seethed. "No, n-ah, ow, ow, ow, head hurts." Before Ruby knew it, Yang was by her side, glass of water in one hand and painkillers in the other. Ruby took the tablets and quickly washed them down before thanking Yang. Not that she'd feel the effects for a good long while.

"No, Weiss," she finally begun again. "Of course I'm not. I'm just... thinking."

 _And presently wishing I wasn't..._

Leaning forward, Yang gave Ruby a quick peck on the forehead, pulling away with a bright smile. "Take your time, Rubes. And y'know, you don't have to do anything, if you don't want to. Blake, Weiss, you two date anyone when you were fifteen?"

"Nope."

"Actually..."

Blinking twice, Yang peered round to Blake, who was now sitting up and getting comfortable. "I knew this girl," she began. "She was so different to me. I was cheerful, innocent, idealistic, I stood for what was right but didn't really have the confidence to just enjoy life. And there she was. Boisterous, excitable, outgoing, confident, jokey. We went out on a few dates but... it wasn't going to work out. We were more like sisters." Ruby absorbed Blake's words, memorising them. Yang meanwhile glanced over to Ruby, taking note of how different the Blake she had just described was from the Blake she knew and loved. "Now though, with everything that's happened... I don't know. Maybe it could..."

Scanning the room, Blake took stock of everyone's reactions. Ruby was once more deep in thought, though Blake expected as much. Weiss glanced between both Blake and Yang without tact before blushing. And Yang... couldn't meet her eyes. Perhaps she shouldn't have brought up her past, or the fact that, indeed, Blake _could_ see it working out with that girl. At the very least, she could have admitted she could see it working out with Yang...

"Sorry..." she apologised. "Kind of hurt your point."

"No, no, no, no," Ruby hurriedly cut in, standing up from her seat emphatically. "That's..." Noticing all three eyes upon her, a sudden discomfort washed over her as she lost her nerve. She glanced down at the ground, digging her toe into the carpet anxiously. "That's not it."

Yang raised a brow. The maintained attention of all three told Ruby to go on. "I just... don't know _who_ I'm interested in, y'know?" All three girls gave a synchronised hum of realisation and nodded. "Weiss at least likes guys. Blake at least likes girls. And Yang I know for a fact is pansexual. But... what am I? Who do I like? I've never... You know... I don't _know_."

Yang's laugh broke in there; a single, short, teasing chuckle, accompanied by a far too familiar smirk of sardonic victory. "Well, Pyrrha's still on the market, seeking a team leading, socially awkward kid who could use a bit more confidence, a few more friends and to stop being so damn oblivious to love."

Ruby scoffed, but not without her cheeks being tinged a light pink. Weiss couldn't help but point out how that was her thing, and that she should sue Ruby for stealing it. Blake let herself laugh, as did Yang, commending Weiss before cutting in. "Love's all around you, Rubes." She rested a hand on her sister's shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "You just gotta look for it."

"Yeah..."

Ruby almost cringed. She sounded so unsure of herself. She was going to be the world's worst... whateversexual... ever. Attempting to break through the tense silence, she cleared her throat and shrugged away from Yang's hand. "I... think I should go talk to that guy who asked me out. Apologise, y'know? Explain everything and let him down gently."

"Sure thing," was Yang's only response. Weiss wished her luck while Blake gave a small hum of acknowledgement and a simple farewell. "For him, for me, and so you can't torture me with it for the next week..." she mumbled to herself before she set out in search of the veritable stranger, leaving the door to close behind her and leave Blake, Yang and Weiss together.

Seconds passed by before Blake cleared her throat, asking the other two girls in the room if they wanted a cup of tea. Yang however had other plans, immediately jumping up and announcing that she'd get it. "Don't worry, Kitten, I won't forget the milk."

She winked, and Blake rolled her eyes before smiling to herself and watching Yang walk away, the young woman retreating into the kitchen with an entrancing sway of the hips. Blake's... reverie... lasted until Weiss clicked her fingers in front of Blake's face, snapping the Faunus out of it and giving a thoroughly unimpressed look that wouldn't win her any drama awards. Alas, the false look soon vanished, replaced with curiosity. "So, you and Yang, huh?" she asked and Blake immediately glanced over to the blonde before returning her gaze to Weiss with a smile.

"I don't know..." The pause told Weiss there was more to it. "Maybe..." Still more. "Hopefully." There it was. "I think we could work out."

Weiss nodded, smiling. "Me too..."

That was the beginning and end of their exchange. Blake went to ask Weiss if she meant it but Yang had already returned, teas in hand: maple for Weiss, jasmine for Blake, and honeyed for herself. God, how she loved Blake for being a tea fanatic, and, God, how guilty she felt for secretly enjoying how rich Weiss was so they could explore Blake's addiction...

"So, what's going to happen with Ruby?" Weiss enquired as she quickly sipped at her tea. Yang shrugged. In what was perhaps the most honest gesture she could have given.

"Not a clue. I tried telling her to do stuff like this before. She never _actually_ did it... I hope she's a good swimmer."

"She'll be fine," Blake reassured. "She may be naive and innocent and shy, but that just means that she won't jump into a date with anyone she doesn't trust. She'll be fine."

Yang hummed and smiled, leaning over to rest her head on Blake's shoulder affectionately. "Thanks, Kitten." Looking down at Yang from out the corner of her eye, Blake couldn't help but smile and tilted her own head to rest it on Yang, drawing an arm around the blonde to pull her closer. The two settled into pleasant silence and comfortable embrace but it didn't last long. Soon, Weiss took one last big mouthful before standing up, yawning as she stretched her legs and arms.

"In any case, I'm gonna go and hunt for her. Make sure the person trained with the most deadly weapon in the world doesn't, y'know, use it." She wasn't there for Yang's defensive quip about her sister. She just gave Blake an encouraging wink before heading off, making herself out to be a liar when she instead stalked off on her own for a little bit, giving her teammates all the time they needed together.

Time they enjoyed at first simply by falling back into silence, enjoying the warmth of one another's bodies. They remained like that until Blake took the last gulp of her jasmine tea and set it aside, nudging Yang to grab her attention.

"Yang... can we talk?" she asked and Yang simply nodded against Blake's shoulder. "No, I mean... properly..."

"Oh," was Yang's response before she sat up, setting down her mug and giving Blake her full attention. "What is it?"

It was Blake's turn to lose all confidence after putting herself on the spot. "I..." She gulped, suddenly wishing for the best. "So when you said you flirted with anyone you took an interest in, that you could see yourself entering a relationship with... did you mean it?"

Several beats passed as Yang absorbed Blake's question, silently cursing herself for not being more careful – for not better hiding her thoughts toward her partner. Eventually she simply nodded her head, urging Blake to go on.

"So... what about me?" Blake asked, the obvious follow up question. To which she got an immediate answer, in the form of a startling question.

"What about you?"

Blake flinched, a dagger placed in her heart. But she endured, pressing on, hoping to ease up her clearly on-edge friend. "What about me. I mean... you've flirted with me. _A lot._ "

Yang avoided Blake's gaze, unable to bring herself to look directly at her as she spoke softly, sadly.

"Yeah... I did..."

The meaning was there, buried beneath simple words but clear as day to Blake. Yang had flirted with her. Yang had thought about her being more than a friend – more than a partner. Yang had already given up. To her there was no chance. Nothing she could do to rival Blake's first love.

Blake shifted, moving closer to her fiery partner. "Y'know..." she paused, reconsidering what she wanted to admit, if she truly wanted to say it. "When I mentioned that girl from the White Fang. About how we were just too much like sisters to be anything more. And how I've changed over the years, so much in fact that I think it could work out if we got together..." Yang didn't answer or respond, simply ignoring all of her other problems to focus intently on Blake. "Well... it's not just her who I think it could work out with..."

Yang's eyes widened instantly, glistening with hopefully tears as a bright smile prettied up her features and a hand grasped Blake's, squeezing tight. "I don't believe in the concept of there being 'one true love'. There's just-mmph!"

Not letting her finished, Yang stole a kiss, locking lips with the Faunus and allowing the younger brunette to melt into it, her hands disentangling from Yang's before finding her waist and pulling her close. Yang deepened the kiss, hands raising to cup Blake's cheeks as they let their tongues say everything they were still yet too. The two were breathless when they finally separated, Yang leaning forward to touch her forehead against Blake's.

"Blake Belladonna, will you go out with me?"

Blake let out a heavy breath and smile.

"Fuck yes."


End file.
